Accessories rail charging handle for firearm slide

ABSTRACT

A firearm slide accessory includes a charging handle attachment including a first member and a second member. The first and second members are formed with one or more mounting holes through which pass one or more fasteners. The first member includes an accessories rail for mounting accessories thereon. The accessories rail extends in a firing direction forward of at least one of the fasteners.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to weapons and weapon accessories, and particularly to a charging handle attachment that has an accessories rail, such as a Picatinny rail, for mounting accessories thereon, such as a red dot sight.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional semi-automatic handguns generally make use of a slide assembly to load, cycle and fire individual rounds. When loading an initial round into a chamber, a user must generally pull or slide the slide assembly to a rearward position, whereby a topmost round is stripped from a magazine and fed into the chamber. The force required to direct the slide assembly to the rearward position can be more than a user expects and in some cases, create difficulty for smaller or older individuals to operate. Manufacturers have addressed this by creating ribs, channels and/or similar features on the sides of the slide assembly to provide a gripping area by which the user can more easily retain and apply force to the slide assembly. However, these gripping areas are often times insufficient for certain users.

U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/782,081 to Porat and assigned to RT Recover Innovations Ltd., describes a charging handle member that includes an upper member and a lower member. Both upper and lower members are formed with internal serrations that mate with external serrations of the slide. Fasteners secure the upper and lower members together.

US Patent Application 20190277588 describes a handle assembly which can be installed onto a standard T-shaped charging handle of a firearm such as an AR-15. The handle assembly is designed to engage and operate the charging handle, including the latch which secures the charging handle in the forward position, when the user grasps and pulls on the handle assembly. The left ear and latch of the charging handle are disposed in a window through a prong of the handle assembly and the right ear of the charging handle is disposed in a window through an opposing prong of the handle assembly. In this add-on handle assembly, a rail is completely rearward of the T-shaped charging handle of the firearm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to provide a charging handle attachment that has an accessories rail, such as a Picatinny rail, for mounting accessories thereon, such as a red dot sight, as is described more in detail hereinbelow. The terms firearm and weapon and used interchangeably throughout. The charging handle attachment has different structure than that of U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/782,081.

The charging handle attachment allows for a more ergonomic charge of the firearm. There are no protruding parts which could snag on clothes or holsters. The charging handle attachment allows optical accessories to be mounted on the slide securely for use in any tactical situation.

There is provided in accordance with an embodiment of the invention a firearm slide accessory including a charging handle attachment including a first member and a second member, the first and second members being formed with one or more mounting holes through which pass one or more fasteners, wherein the first member includes an accessories rail for mounting accessories thereon.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the accessories rail is formed on an upper face of the first member.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the accessories rail includes a forward extension that extends forward of end faces of the first and second members, respectively.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the forward extension is overhanging or cantilevered with respect to a rear portion of the first member.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention a gap is formed between a rear face of the accessories rail and a rear face of the first member.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention the first and second members are formed with mating male and female portions, respectively

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention at least one of the first and second members is formed with internal serrations.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention at least one of the first and second members is formed with external serrations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are simplified, exploded and pictorial illustrations, respectively, of a charging handle attachment, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the charging handle attachment attached to the slide of a firearm.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is now made to FIGS. 1-2 , which illustrate a charging handle attachment 10 for use with a firearm 12 (FIG. 3 ), constructed and operative in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

The charging handle attachment 10 may include a first member 14 and a second member 16. In the illustrated embodiment, the first member 14 is the upper member and the second member 16 is the lower member; upper and lower being in the sense of the firearm, that is, upper corresponds to the upper surface of the slide and lower corresponds to the lower surface of the slide. However, alternatively, the first member 14 may be the left or right member and the second member 16 may be the right or left member. Both the first and second members 14 and 16 may be formed with internal serrations 18 that mate with external serrations of a slide 22 of firearm 12 (seen in FIG. 3 ). In this manner, both the first and second members 14 and 16 are positively secured to slide 22. Alternatively, one or both of the first and second members 14 and 16 may not be formed with internal serrations and instead may be smooth or have other texture.

Both the first and second members 14 and 16 may also be formed with external serrations 24 that match the external serrations of the slide 22 so as to give an aesthetically pleasing texture to the charging handle attachment 10 that blends with the original serrations of the slide.

The first and second members 14 and 16 are secured together with one or more fasteners 26, such as screws. For example, the first and second members 14 and 16 may be formed with one or more mounting holes 29 and 31, respectively, to accept the one or more fasteners 26 (one set of the holes may be tapped to accept the fasteners so that no nuts are needed; other fasteners may be used, such as but not limited to, screws 26 with nuts 27, pins or rivets and others). The fasteners 26 ensure that the charging handle attachment 10 is properly secured to slide 22 (FIG. 3 ) and will not budge during years of use.

The first and second members 14 and 16 may be made of any suitable material, such as but not limited to, polymer, aluminum alloy, steel alloy, elastomer and the like. The first and second members 14 and 16 may have the same color as slide 22 or may be made of different colors.

The first member 14 may include, such as on an upper face thereof, an accessories rail 30, such as a Picatinny rail, for mounting accessories thereon, such as but not limited to, a red dot sight (not shown). The accessories rail 30 extends in a firing direction forward of at least one of the one or more fasteners 26 of the charging handle (contrary to US Patent Application 20190277588). The accessories rail 30 may extend forward (“forward” being in the shooting direction) of end faces 32 and 34 of first and second members 14 and 16, respectively. This is called the forward extension 35 of accessories rail 30 (or overhanging or cantilevered portion 35).

Alternatively or additionally, an accessories rail may be formed on side surfaces of the first member 14 or second member 16.

A gap 36 may be formed between a rear face 38 of accessories rail 30 and a rear face 40 of first member 14.

As seen in FIG. 1 , the first and second members 14 and 16 may be formed with mating male and female portions 42 and 44, respectively.

The charging handle attachment 10 allows for a more ergonomic charge of the firearm 12. There are no protruding parts which could snag on clothes or holsters.

The installation is straightforward. After making a safety check on firearm 12 to make sure it is clear of ammunition, the slide 22 may be pulled and locked to the rear. The first and second members 14 and 16 may then be fastened to the slide 22 with fasteners 26 (and 27). The fasteners 26 that pass through holes 29 and 31 formed in the first and second members 14 and 16, respectively, near the forward extension 35 of accessories rail 30 (as opposed to the rear set of fasteners) ensure there are no overturning moments or forces on the accessories mounted on accessories rail 30. 

1. A firearm slide accessory comprising: a charging handle attachment comprising a first member and a second member, said first and second members being formed with one or more mounting holes through which pass one or more fasteners; wherein said first member comprises an accessories rail for mounting accessories thereon, said accessories rail extending in a firing direction forward of at least one of said one or more fasteners, and wherein said accessories rail is formed with a gap along the firing direction that divides said accessories rail into a left portion and a right portion, said gap being configured not to block a rear sight of a firearm on which said firearm slide accessory is mountable.
 2. The firearm slide accessory according to claim 1, wherein said accessories rail is formed on an upper face of said first member.
 3. The firearm slide accessory according to claim 1, wherein said accessories rail comprises a forward extension that extends forward of end faces of said first and second members, respectively.
 4. The firearm slide accessory according to claim 3, wherein said forward extension is overhanging or cantilevered with respect to a rear portion of said first member.
 5. The firearm slide accessory according to claim 1, wherein a gap is formed between a rear face of said accessories rail and a rear face of said first member.
 6. The firearm slide accessory according to claim 1, wherein said first and second members are formed with mating male and female portions, respectively
 7. The firearm slide accessory according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second members is formed with internal serrations.
 8. The firearm slide accessory according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said first and second members is formed with external serrations. 